Half an hour later, in the meeting room at Jianzhou Ranch.
"Are you sure it's Jianzhou Flying Shadow?"
Luo Fei looked at Zhang Jun with a serious expression.
"I'm sure, Uncle Luo." Zhang Jun nodded. "I believe in him."
"Good." Luo Fei smiled. "Then this horse is yours."
"Your father previously gave me a deposit. I'll only charge you the cost price for the horse. If anything remains after deducting the cost, I'll use it for his future training and care. But you'll need to cover the trainer's boarding fees and care expenses yourself."
"I understand."
Zhang Jun replied.
Hearing that Zhang Jun had decided to choose Jianzhou Flying Shadow and understood the subsequent expenses, Luo Fei took a document from a drawer.
"Since you've decided to enter the horse racing industry, there are some things I need to tell you."
"In Huaxia, horse racing is a strictly regulated competitive sport. Any horse entering an official race must be registered. First, you need to register as an owner."
Zhang Jun accepted the document. Its title read, "Huaxia Horse Racing Association Owner Registration Guidelines."
"Our Huaxia racing system is divided into two levels: local racing and central racing." Luo Fei began to explain.
"Local races are organized by the local horse racing associations of each province and city. Basically, every prefecture-level city has a local racetrack. The races mainly include maiden races, class races in Groups A, B, and C, local open races, Graded Stakes races, and so on."
"Central races, meanwhile, are organized uniformly by the Huaxia Horse Racing Association. Following international standards, they include G1, G2, and G3 Graded Stakes races, OP races, condition races for one, two, and three wins, maiden races, winless races, as well as classic series such as the Triple Crown Classic and the Founding Celebration."
He pointed to the clauses in the document. "Both central and local owner registration have their own requirements. New owners usually start with local racing, because central ownership has income and duration requirements. You need to provide income statements for the past two years."
"You first need to register with a local horse racing association in your province and obtain owner qualifications. Then, you must register every horse under your name. Only after completing these procedures can a horse enter official races."
Zhang Jun carefully read through the document.
Registering as an owner required proof of identity, a certificate of no criminal record, an explanation of the source of funds, and other materials, along with a registration fee.
Horse registration required proof of pedigree, a health examination report, proof of birth or purchase, and so forth.
"This looks a little complicated," Zhang Jun said.
"It does require some paperwork, but don't worry." Luo Fei smiled.
"How about this? I'll have A-Yong take you to handle it. He happens to be going to Mindu City today to take care of some business, so he can drop you off at the horse racing association on the way."
As they spoke, the sound of a car horn came from outside.
Luo Yong pushed open the door and entered. "A-Jun, no time to waste. Shall we leave now?"
"The Jianzhou Horse Racing Association closes at four in the afternoon. If we go now, we can still make it."
Zhang Jun looked at Luo Fei, who nodded. "Go on. Get the paperwork done early. We'll take good care of Jianzhou Flying Shadow here. Once you've registered as an owner, you can officially register him under your name."
"Thank you, Uncle Luo."
"We're family. No need for formalities." Luo Fei waved a hand. "Go on, hurry."
Zhang Jun followed Luo Yong into the car. The sedan drove out through the ranch gates and headed toward Jianzhou's urban district along the country road.
In the car, Luo Yong drove while introducing more details to Zhang Jun.
"Although Huaxia's horse racing system doesn't have as long a history as those in Europe, America, or Japan, it has developed rapidly and now has a complete industrial chain," Luo Yong said.
"There are more than thirty central racetracks nationwide, covering every province. As long as the local economy isn't too poor, every prefecture-level city has a local racetrack. Poorer prefecture-level cities may jointly establish one together."
"More than 470,000 races are held every year, and the annual total betting volume exceeds two trillion."
Zhang Jun was somewhat astonished. "That much?"
"That doesn't even include related industries spawned by horse racing, such as breeding, feed, tack, and race broadcasting." Luo Yong smiled. "If you include all of that, the entire horse racing industry has an economic scale exceeding ten trillion."
He glanced at Zhang Jun. "Of course, the people at the top of this industry make a fortune, while small owners at the bottom might not even recoup their costs. You need to be prepared for that."
"I understand." Zhang Jun nodded. "I'll be careful."
"Also, there are some requirements for owner registration and entering horses in races," Luo Yong continued.
"Depending on whether it's local or central, local owner registration requires proof of annual income exceeding 300,000, while central ownership requires over one million. You also need to meet that standard for two consecutive years and own more than 4.5 million yuan in assets within Huaxia before you can apply in the third year."
"Of course, for you, it's really only a matter of time." Luo Heng glanced at Zhang Jun.
"And for a horse to race, you need to find a trainer and jockey with trainer and jockey licenses recognized by the local or central authorities. You must place your horse with a qualified trainer who has stables at the racetrack for training. The trainer enters the horse in races, and the jockey rides the horse in competition."
"If no trainer is willing to take your horse, and no jockey is willing to ride it in a race, then your horse can only stay at the ranch as an ornament. Placing a horse with a trainer requires boarding fees, including training, feed, and stable expenses. You also have to pay the jockey a riding fee for races."
"Both the central and local systems have set rates for boarding and riding fees. Central boarding costs 30,000 yuan per month, while jockey riding fees are 2,000 yuan per race, including the jockey's insurance. Because of the difference in training facilities, local boarding fees are 24,000 yuan per month, while the riding fee remains unchanged."
"Also, to protect the interests of small and medium owners, Huaxia provides subsidies for horses that race. Again, the amounts differ between central and local races. Central racehorses receive a 20,000-yuan participation subsidy for every race, while horses that fail to place receive a fixed prize of 10,000 yuan."
"Local races provide a 9,000-yuan participation subsidy for racehorses and a fixed prize of 3,000 yuan for horses that fail to place. Basically, breaking even means racing once every month and a half in central racing, or twice a month in local racing."
They talked as they traveled, and several hours passed before the car drove from Jianzhou Ranch into Mindu City.
Luo Yong parked before a six-story gray building. Two signs hung at its entrance: "Min Province Mindu City Local Horse Racing Association" and "Huaxia General Horse Racing Association Min Province Office."
"We're here," Luo Yong said.
The two entered the lobby. The interior was simply and practically decorated, with various horse racing photographs and trophy display cabinets hanging along the walls. Several staff members were busy behind the counters.
Luo Yong was clearly familiar with the place. He went directly to Window Three. "Miss Li, keeping busy?"
Behind the window was a middle-aged woman in her forties. She looked up, saw Luo Yong, and smiled. "Oh? Young Master Luo, what brings you here today? Registering another horse?"
"Not for me today." Luo Yong stepped aside to reveal Zhang Jun. "I brought my younger brother to register as an owner."
Miss Li took out a stack of forms from beneath the counter. "First, fill out the 'Owner Registration Application Form.' You'll need a copy of your ID, two recent one-inch photographs. If you're a student, you'll also need a guardian's consent form..."
"He doesn't have a guardian," Luo Yong said calmly. "His father passed away last month. He independently inherited the estate."
Miss Li's expression immediately turned sympathetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
"It's all right," Zhang Jun said softly.
"In that case..." Miss Li searched through the documents.
"You'll need to provide relevant proof of inheritance, such as notarized will documents or a court judgment."
"I brought them." Zhang Jun took out the document folder Liu Yong had prepared for him in advance from his backpack.
Miss Li accepted the documents and examined them carefully, then nodded. "Everything is complete. Mr. Zhang, fill out the forms first. I'll make copies of these documents for you."
Zhang Jun took the application form and began filling it out under Luo Yong's guidance. The form contained quite a lot of information, including personal details, contact information, source-of-funds declarations, whether he would use a stable name, silks design plans, and more.
Zhang Jun did not choose a stable name. In his view, he hoped all the racehorses under his name could leave descendants, and that those descendants could chase after their fathers' and mothers' shadows to achieve even better results.
Therefore, he decided that the first generation of his horses would receive pleasant names. Their descendants would be called Chase followed by an association with their parents' names, or Chase/Pursuit plus one character from either parent's name, then an animal, plant, or something else, just like Jianzhou Ranch did.
As for the silks, Zhang Jun thought of his father.
His father liked blue. He said it was the color of the sky and sea, capable of embracing everything.
Along with Zhang Jun's own favorite colors of black, white, and gold.
The design was completed: blue as the base color for the body, with a white steed in the center and thin gold stripes at the collar and hem. The sleeves had black as their base, two yellow wavy stripes, and thin stripes where the cuffs connected to the garment.
After filling out all the forms, Zhang Jun handed them to Miss Li along with copies of his documents. After carefully checking them, Miss Li began entering the information into the computer.
"The registration fee is 1,200 yuan, and the owner qualification certificate production fee is 300 yuan," Miss Li said.
"Also, if you want to register a horse at the same time, you'll need to pay a horse registration fee of 800 yuan per horse."
"There's one horse to register."
Zhang Jun took out the bank card Liu Yong had helped him obtain and paid.
"The procedures are complete." Miss Li handed Zhang Jun the receipt and a temporary certificate, then took out a "Horse Registration Application Form." "The official owner qualification certificate takes a week to produce. This is a temporary certificate with the same validity."
The "Horse Registration Application Form" required even more information: the horse's name, sex, age, coat color, pedigree, birthplace, current place of care, and so on.
With Luo Yong's help, Zhang Jun completed the form. He changed Jianzhou Flying Shadow's name to Shadow Hunter, hoping Shadow Hunter could help him hunt down the shadows in his heart.
"The horse's name needs to be reviewed. It can't duplicate an existing registered horse's name, contain inappropriate words, or duplicate the name of a hall-of-fame horse on Huaxia's graded registry. Shadow Hunter... Let me check."
She searched the computer for a moment. "There's no duplicate. It can be approved. Are you sure you want to use this name? It can't be changed once registered."
"I'm sure."
"All right." Miss Li continued entering the information.
"Once the horse registration is complete, this horse will officially belong to you and can enter races organized by the local horse racing association."
She tapped the keyboard, and the printer began working. A few minutes later, a temporary horse registration certificate was passed out through the window.
"The official certificate will also take a week. During this period, you can use the temporary certificate to arrange the horse's training and enter him in races." Miss Li smiled. "Congratulations, Mr. Zhang. You're now a true horse owner."
Zhang Jun accepted the certificate. Looking at the name "Shadow Hunter" and his owner certification, an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.